The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-02-12
THAT BOY.

49, 49,
I've been more than dozen miles after
that colt"
Andrew threw himself at full length
on the lounge, and wiped the perspiration
from his forehead.
"Where did you go?" inquired his fa-
ther
"I went over to Briggs corner and
back by the bridge"
"That is little less than mile and a
half. Is it 30 very warm, Andy? 1t seems
quite cool here"
"No, not so dreadful, suppose, if I'd
take it moderate; but ran like light
ming, and got heated up"
"You started about five o'clock, my
son, and now it lacks quarter to six"
said his father, consulting his watch.
eyes, sir; just three-quarters OF an
hour" answered Andrew, innocently.
docs it take lightning forty-five min
utes to go mile and half ~
81 didn't mean exactly that, father, but
I ran all the way because 1 expected the
whole town would be here tonight to see
my new velocipede," explained Andrew,
reluctantly.
"Whom did you expect, Andy? L
wasn't aware that such crowd was to
be here. What will you do with them
all?"
"Jim, Eddy and Tim told me they'd be
round after school; and wouldn't Won
der il Ike came too; that's ALL"
"The population of the town is five
thousand and you expect three persons
Well, as you are very sick am glad no
more are coming. You couldn't play
with them at all"
"SickI' cried Andrew, springing to his
feet, "who says I'm sick?"
"Why, Andrew, you said you were al
most dead. Doesn't that mean very
sick?"
"You, are so particular, father, about
my talking. don't mean exactly what
1 say, of course. I wasn't nearly dead,
to be sure; but did some tall running,
You bet. There were more than fifty
dogs after me, and I don't go much on
dogs"
"Quite band of theml Where did they
all come from?"
"There was Mr.. Wheeler's sheep dog,
and Rush's store-dog, and two or three
more; and they made for me, and so 1
ran as fast as l could"
Give, at the most, are not fifty, An
drew"
"There looked to be fifty, anyway"
answered Andrew, somewhat impatiently.
sCarter's ten.acre lot was full of dogs
just making for me; and I guess you'd
have thought there were fifty if it had
been you"
"Ten acres of dogs would be great
many thousands. Have you any idea
how many?"
Andrew did not like to calculate, for it
occurred to him what small space TO-
600 or $4,000 sheep would occupy when
camping, and ten acres of dogs would be
past calculation.
"But," his father continued, 81 know
of no better way to break you of the fool
ish habit of exaggeration than to tell the
children of the trouble you had in going
after the colt. You ran like lightning,
encountered ten acres of dogs, which
would be hundreds OF thousands, trav-
eled more than dozen miles to get one
and half miles in straight line, ex-
pected to find five thousand people here
to examine your new velocipede, and
when you reached home you were nearly
deadp
"Please don't, father; the boys and
girls will all laugh themselves to death;
and 1 won't exaggerate again, if I live to
be as old as Methuselahp
"Laugh themselves to death at a SIM
pie story like this? hope not, but rather
hope it will set them to watching their
own manner of telling stories, so as to be
sure they do not greatly overstate things.
Habit, my son, grows with years, and be-
comes in time so deeply rooted that it
will be impossible for you, when you be-
come man, to relate plain, unvarnished
facts unless you check the foolish habit
in which you indulge every day of stretch
ing simple incidents into the most mar
velous tales. "-Christion Neighbor.